Herb Rule was born in Little Rock, Ark., where he now resides. He earned a bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1959. After serving in the Marines, he returned to Arkansas and earned a law degree from the University of Arkansas in 1964.

Rule was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1966, where he served two terms. He has also served six years on the Little Rock School Board.

Rule has three adult children.

Herb Rule filed to run for the 2nd Congressional District's Democratic nomination after the party's expected sole candidate bowed out of the race for the central Arkansas seat. He won the party's nomination without any opposition in the May 2012 primary, and faces Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin in the November general election.

Despite a district that has been trending conservative in recent years, Rule has touted his liberal views on issues such as same-sex marriage. After President Barack Obama said he believed same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, Rule said he also believed gay marriage should be legal.

Rule has also said he is opposed to efforts to repeal the 2010 federal health care reform law that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2012.

He has also spoken out on veterans' issues, defending a downtown Little Rock location that was proposed for a homeless veterans center. He said the debate over that center partly motivated him to run for the House seat.

Rules' previous campaign experience dates back to 1966, when he served two terms in the state House of Representatives. Rule's two terms in the House coincided with Republican Winthrop Rockefeller's two terms as governor, and Rule supported many of the governor's reforms.